New Atlanta Braves president of baseball operations John Hart took his scare of criticism with the team's recent trade of former franchise cornerstone Jason Heyward.
However, Hart had a very honest assessment when asked about his controversial offseason so far by the Atlanta Journal Constitution's Jeff Schultz.
“Let’s be honest: This team finished 29th in offense,” Hart said. “It’s not like I’m breaking up the ’27 Yankees.”
With slugger Justin Upton reportedly on the trading block as well, Hart is going full-speed ahead in his attempt to fix what he feels has been ailing the entire Atlanta Braves organization.
"We had a tough year, and I know there was a lot of speculation about us going into this winter,” Hart said. “We had the 29th-ranked farm system in baseball. We had some bad contracts. Everybody felt there would be some players we would definitely unload — become a seller, if you will. But we’ve never felt like there was something we had to do. Obviously we’re contractually obligated to some players who aren’t performing well. But just because 2017 is coming, it doesn’t mean we’re going to throw a hand grenade on the club and blow it up. That wouldn’t guarantee success for 2017, either.”
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